Elections BC posted results from its final count Wednesday, meaning numbers are final in all ridings except Coquitlam-Maillardville, where there will be a judicial recount.

The following are some of the interesting numbers I pulled from the results.

– Unofficial turnout among eligible voters is about 54.5%. That’s up significantly from 2009, when it was 51 per cent. But it is also down from 2005 (58%) and 2001 (55%)...

]]>http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/29/interesting-numbers-from-the-bc-election/feed/0votingjfowlieOttawa polling firm says B.C. campaign began to close after TV debatehttp://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/29/ottawa-polling-firm-says-b-c-campaign-began-to-close-after-tv-debate/
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/29/ottawa-polling-firm-says-b-c-campaign-began-to-close-after-tv-debate/#commentsWed, 29 May 2013 18:13:19 +0000http://blogs.vancouversun.com/?p=125006Ottawa-based Campaign Research released information Wednesday that it says shows that voters in B.C. began turning on the New Democratic Party after the televised debate.

The company’s polling found the NDP entered the B.C. election campaign with just a five-point gap over the BC Liberals — significantly less than what other polling companies were identifying at the time. On March 12, a publicly-released Campaign Research poll put the NDP at 38 per cent support, the ...

]]>http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/29/ottawa-polling-firm-says-b-c-campaign-began-to-close-after-tv-debate/feed/0Campaign Research PolljfowlieRetiring Abbott forms consulting firmhttp://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/28/retiring-abbott-forms-consulting-firm/
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/28/retiring-abbott-forms-consulting-firm/#commentsTue, 28 May 2013 23:23:21 +0000http://blogs.vancouversun.com/?p=124889Retiring BC Liberal politician George Abbott has helped establish a Victoria-based consulting firm to help advise people on how to get what they need from government.

Today’s governments and businesses face a complex (and sometimes byzantine and frustrating!) world of legislation, regulation, policy and practice. Your operating environment may sometimes feel more like a minefield than a level playing field. Circle Square Solutions is

...

]]>http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/28/retiring-abbott-forms-consulting-firm/feed/0AbbottjfowlieObservers to watch close races during final counthttp://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/24/observers-to-watch-close-races-during-final-count/
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/24/observers-to-watch-close-races-during-final-count/#commentsFri, 24 May 2013 18:53:07 +0000http://blogs.vancouversun.com/?p=124438Final count in the provincial election begins Monday, and observers will be keeping a close eye on six ridings where the margin between first and second place is less than 400 votes.

Of those six, three are now being led by the NDP, and the other three by the BC Liberals.

Elections BC does not have an exact number of the absentee ballots that will be added as part of next week’s final count (votes ...

But the piece is not written by a reporter. Or placed there by an editor. It’s a paid advertisement by the BC Liberal Party.

“We’re looking for opportunities to speak to people about where it is we stand,” Clark told reporters in Penticton.

“There’s lots of advertising all the parties are doing ...

]]>http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/01/bc-liberals-buy-front-page-of-vancouver-newspaper/feed/024jfowlieNDP dumps candidate over “unacceptable” comments (with video)http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/16/ndp-dumps-candidate-over-unacceptable-comments/
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/16/ndp-dumps-candidate-over-unacceptable-comments/#commentsTue, 16 Apr 2013 18:34:49 +0000http://blogs.vancouversun.com/?p=117825The New Democratic Party has been forced to dump one of its candidates, less than two hours into the provincial election.

In a short written statement, NDP leader Adrian Dix said he had been “made aware of unacceptable comments made by Kelowna-Mission NDP candidate Dayleen van Ryswyk.”

“I have accepted Ms. Van Ryswyk’s resignation. A new BC NDP candidate will be announced shortly,” he continued in the brief statement.

The decision came after the ...

]]>http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/16/ndp-dumps-candidate-over-unacceptable-comments/feed/0DayleenjfowlieDid the BC Liberal party scoop government on the carbon tax?http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/03/did-the-bc-liberal-party-scoop-government-on-the-carbon-tax/
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/03/did-the-bc-liberal-party-scoop-government-on-the-carbon-tax/#commentsWed, 03 Apr 2013 18:17:16 +0000http://blogs.vancouversun.com/?p=116103On Tuesday night, BC Liberal campaign director Mike McDonald appears to have scoopedthe government on a carbon tax announcement, sending the following update to Liberal insiders, media and others who have been included on his campaign distribution list:

Carbon Tax Freeze

Today, the BC Liberal government announced it will freeze the carbon tax at its current level for five years to give other jurisdictions time to follow our leadership.

BC is a world-leader and

...

]]>http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/03/did-the-bc-liberal-party-scoop-government-on-the-carbon-tax/feed/0jfowlieNDP fights dismal-decade campaign with an ad of its ownhttp://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/01/ndp-fights-dismal-decade-campaign-with-an-ad-of-its-own/
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/01/ndp-fights-dismal-decade-campaign-with-an-ad-of-its-own/#commentsMon, 01 Apr 2013 18:26:55 +0000http://blogs.vancouversun.com/?p=115782New Democratic Party leader Adrian Dix released an online advertisement Monday — April Fool’s Day — to take on the ubiquitous BC Liberal Party attack that the province suffered a dismal decade of decline under the NDP in the 1990s.

“He’s risky. You can’t afford him. The inventor of Dixonomics,” it continues, parroting the various BC Liberal attack ...

]]>http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/01/ndp-fights-dismal-decade-campaign-with-an-ad-of-its-own/feed/0NDP 90s adjfowlieSteven Point can bill up to $220,000 as government champion on missing womenhttp://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/03/01/steven-point-can-bill-up-to-220000-as-government-champion/
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/03/01/steven-point-can-bill-up-to-220000-as-government-champion/#commentsFri, 01 Mar 2013 19:57:51 +0000http://blogs.vancouversun.com/?p=111077Last December, the government named former lieutenant-governor Steven Point as a “champion” to oversee the government’s response to the missing women’s report.

“The Honourable Steven Point, former Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, has been selected to be this champion and will chair a new advisory committee on the safety and security of vulnerable women,” said a news release at the time.

“This committee will provide community-based guidance on the report’s 63 recommendations and two additional ...

]]>http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/03/01/steven-point-can-bill-up-to-220000-as-government-champion/feed/0Steven PointjfowlieMLA Krueger refuses to apologize for sending insults of moron, idiot and scumhttp://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/02/27/mla-krueger-refuses-to-apologize-for-sending-insults-of-moron-idiot-and-scum/
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/02/27/mla-krueger-refuses-to-apologize-for-sending-insults-of-moron-idiot-and-scum/#commentsThu, 28 Feb 2013 00:52:59 +0000http://blogs.vancouversun.com/?p=110714B.C. Liberal MLA Kevin Krueger says he regrets the language, but he is not apologizing for calling all members of the B.C. Conservative Party “unmitigated morons”, “idiots” and “scum”.

Krueger’s missive came on Tuesday, after B.C. Conservative Party leader John Cummins publicly called for Minister of Jobs Tourism and Skills Training Pat Bell to be immediately suspended from cabinet.

Cummins’ full news release is as follows:

Suspend Bell and expand investigation, Cummins

LANGLEY, BC, FEB.

...

]]>http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/02/27/mla-krueger-refuses-to-apologize-for-sending-insults-of-moron-idiot-and-scum/feed/0Kevin Krueger, for candidate profile
MURRAY MITCHELL/THE DAILY NEWSjfowlieHealth authority presidents in their own wordshttp://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/02/26/health-authority-presidents-in-their-own-words/
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/02/26/health-authority-presidents-in-their-own-words/#commentsTue, 26 Feb 2013 18:33:46 +0000http://blogs.vancouversun.com/?p=110298Today I wrote about a letter from the presidents of British Columbia’s six health authorities, slamming the government for trying to negotiate a 10-year deal with the province’s nurses.

Noteworthy the letter came the day after the provincial budget, where the government signaled an intention to rein in health spending.